South West Water (SWW) has been fined more than £2 million for a series of environmental offences across Devon and Cornwall spanning a period of four years - the largest ever fine imposed for environmental offences in the region.

Photo: River Creedy in Crediton where harmful chemicals

from South West Water damaged the environment

Delivering her sentence sitting at Plymouth Magistrates’ Court yesterday, District Judge Matson said ‘incidents of pollution will no longer be tolerated by these courts’ and fined the water company £2,150,000.

South West Water was also ordered to pay £280,000 costs and £170 victim surcharge.

The company had pleaded guilty at an earlier court hearing and District Judge Matson sentenced the company on 13 charges – six for illegal water discharge activities and for seven offences of contravening environmental permit conditions.

The Environment Agency (EA) has shown that there were numerous common deficiencies in the implementation of the water company’s management systems which contributed to each of these offences.

The offences, which took place between July 2016 and August 2020 at Lostwithiel, Kilmington, Crediton and Torpoint sewage treatment works and the Watergate Bay sewage pumping station, included:

• Inaccurate and inadequate operational procedures led to harmful chemicals escaping from SWW sites on more than one occasion which resulted in significant environmental damage, including sites at Kilmington on the River Axe and in Crediton on the River Creedy. Following the spill at Kilmington, thousands of fish died in the River Axe, including some protected species.
• Failure by SWW to operate its assets and processes in an effective manner was also demonstrated at Lostwithiel in July 2016, where raw sewage was pumped into the River Fowey for more than 12 hours despite control room alarms indicating there was an issue with the works.
• Not responding adequately to alarms the same year resulted in an illegal discharge from the Watergate Bay sewage pumping station in August 2016. The discharge lasted for more than 35 hours and a sample taken from a stream at the beach showed E. coli levels to be 2,000 times higher than the level that would be classified as poor.

On two occasions, effluent from the Torpoint sewage treatment works was pumped into the St John’s Lake Site of Special Scientific Interest – this also lies within the Plymouth Sounds and Estuaries Special Area of Conservation. The site is designated due to its variety of bird life and invertebrates.

Today’s sentence ‘shows the shareholders and management of South West Water the importance of compliance’, said the judge.

Water Minister Rebecca Pow commented:

“Water companies should not be letting this happen and those that do will be punished using the full force of the law. This fine reflects the severity of the pollution that occurred across Devon and Cornwall, causing damage to both wildlife and protected sites.

“It will rightly be paid solely from the company’s operating profits and not passed on to customer bills.”

“As set out in our recent Plan for Water, fines handed out to water companies that pollute our rivers and seas will be re-invested into a new Water Restoration Fund, which will deliver on-the-ground improvements to our natural environment and water quality.”

Alan Lovell, Chair of the Environment Agency, commented:

“We welcome this sentence. Serious pollution is a serious crime – and we have been clear that the polluter must pay.

“The Environment Agency will pursue any water company that fails to uphold the law or protect nature and will continue to press for the strongest possible penalties.”

According to Clarissa Newell, Environment Agency environment manager for Devon and Cornwall,

SWW’s failure to apply basic environment management principles had caused pollution incidents at some of the most scenic locations in Devon and Cornwall including bathing waters and designated Special Areas of Conservation (SAC). She commented:

“Having alarms to alert you that sewage is spilling is no good if no action is taken. Enforcement is intended to prevent these things from happening again and ensure South West Water improve and meet the expectations placed on it.”